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Spa holiday in Norway

by Belinda Weber

The Solstrand Hotel and Spa is the perfect place to relax. Its light, airy lounges, well-appointed rooms and beautiful gardens that lead right down to the water's edge, all combine to provide a soothing atmosphere that's a real tonic for a stressed soul

I have bad memories of holidays that involve car ferries. This is because, in the past, I have travelled on such a tight budget that I couldn't afford a cabin, and spending all night trying to get comfortable on a lounger in a smoke-filled bar is not my idea of a good time! So it was quite a relief to discover that our DFDS Norwegian Spa Break on the MS Queen of Scandinavia included an en-suite cabin in the price.

If you're only going on a mini-break, as Kate and I were, I'd recommend booking the Commodore, or better yet, Commodore De Luxe cabins, as these are much more spacious than the standard ones. On our journey out we had a standard class, twin-berth cabin, which was perfectly adequate, but you didn't really want to linger in it.

cabin There was just room for the two beds and a small shower room (which had a surprisingly good shower), but as foot passengers, our luggage did tend to dominate the space. Some of the cabins have three, or four-berths (arranged as bunk beds) in them, which is great if you're travelling with a young family, but was described as 'a bit too cosy' by a family travelling with teenagers!

Bars and restaurants

We were late leaving Newcastle because of bad weather, and so couldn't enjoy a drink on deck the first night. Instead, we sampled the Columbus Club bar, complete with dance troupe and other live entertainment. If this bar doesn't appeal, there are plenty of others to choose from including the Piano bar, next door to the Columbus Club, the Blue Riband next to the a la carte restaurant, and two outdoor bars, the Mermaid and Sky bars. Prices were higher than we'd expected and you're better off paying in Norwegian kroner than sterling.

We'd opted for pre-paid food vouchers which entitled us to dinner and breakfast at the buffet restaurant. The food was of a high standard and there was a huge range of seafood to choose from as a cold appetiser. You could also have soup of the day and a selection of cold meats and salads. Hot dishes included chicken pieces, lamb and pork chops and steak, as well as a salmon dish. I over-indulged on the seafood table, so didn't have room for dessert, but there was a selection of pastries and ice-creams, all of which I suspect were delicious! If you don't fancy the buffet, you can try the Blue Riband restaurant that serves an a la carte menu.

Onboard facilities

The journey from Newcastle to Bergen takes about 24 hours, so we had plenty of time to explore the Ms Queen of Scandinavia. As the weather wasn't brilliant, we checked out the facilities indoors which included a duty free shop, coffee bar, cinema, casino and disco/nightclub. Jack the Pirate kept children under 12 entertained with a ballroom, kids disco and other activities. Sadly, the swimming pool and sauna were not open on our trip.